Rs 14 crore to be spent on yoga extravaganza in Chandigarh

Posted on 13 June 2016

The UT administration, along with Ayush ministry, will spend over Rs 14 crore on International Yoga Day event, and the ongoing four-day yoga festival being held in different areas of the city. Of the entire budget, around Rs 1.5 crore is being spent on the yoga festival. Several companies have tied up with the administration for sponsorships, and around Rs 5 crore will be generated through CSR and sponsorships.

A sound system worth Rs 15 lakh is also being put up at the main venue.

The Ayush ministry has sanctioned Rs 7 crore for the mega yoga event to be held at the Capitol Complex, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform yoga ‘asanas’ along with 30,000 participants. In all, total 70,000 will perform yoga across 180 camps in Chandigarh.

The administration is organising the main yoga event in collaboration with Punjab and Haryana. Ayush ministry secretary Ajit M Sharan said though the ministry had sanctioned Rs 7 crore for the main event, the total spending is going to increase by several crores.

All special arrangements are being made to make it a successful event; the ongoing yoga festival is being held as a prequel of the main event.

Deputy commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi on Saturday said, “We are receiving funds under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) from different companies.”

On day one of the yoga festival, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had delivered a lecture on spirituality and yoga. Besides, speakers from all across the country are sharing thoughts at the ongoing yoga conclave at the CII.

Sources say as part of the preparation for the mega event, over 35,000 mats will be set up. As per the estimate, the UT will have to arrange over 1.35 lakh water bottles, 100 temporary toilets, carpet measuring 10lakh square feet, 40 LED screens at the main venue. A tender worth Rs 2.89 lakh has already been floated. A Delhi-based firm, Arch Concepts Private Limited, which organised the first International Yoga Day event, has been allotted the tender.

LED YOGA SHOW

A spectacular eight-minute 3D mapping LED show, ‘Yoga — the Tree of Life’ — was held at Sukhna Lake on Saturday evening. The estimated cost of the show is stated to be around Rs 35 lakh. Different yoga ‘asanas’ were displayed on LED screens put up at a 16-ft structure raised at the lake. Moonlight yoga, along with skyads, was main highlight of the event. UT administrator Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali Ayurveda, UT adviser Parimal Rai, home secretary Anurag Aggarwal and DC Ajit Balaji Joshi attended the event.